The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Reading the Situtation: Lincoln High School graduate Leanna Kinsey, 17, speaks in support of the San Jose Unified School District board at a July 23 meeting. Parents who object to the district's keeping 'Always Running--La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.' on its supplemental reading list are attempting to recall three board members.

Parents notify 3 SJUSD trustees of their intention to recall them

Fur is still flying over district's use of book on L.A. gang experience

By Christine Frey

Enraged by the San Jose Unified board's refusal to ban a controversial book from the district's supplemental reading list, a group of San Jose parents officially informed three board members July 23 that they would be subject to a recall campaign.

At last week's board meeting, members of the Parental Rights Organization presented their letters of intent to recall Carol Myers, Jorge Gonzales and Gary Rummelhoff. Myers represents Trustee Area 3, which includes Willow Glen. Board members Rich Garcia and Veronica Lewis were not eligible for recall because they are up for re-election in November.

P.R.O. members had a week from Thursday's meeting to file a copy of their intent to recall with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Once the Registrar approves their petition, they have 120 days to collect the signatures of 20 percent of the registered voters in each trustee's district. In order to proceed with a recall, P.R.O. will have to collect more than 4,500 signatures for Myers, 2,600 for Gonzales and 5,100 for Rummelhoff.

P.R.O. was formed last month after the school board decided in May to keep Always Running--La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. on the district's supplemental reading list. The organization claims that the use of book in SJUSD high schools violates several state education codes. The book, which graphically describes the author's youth in the barrios of Los Angeles, has been taught at Lincoln, Broadway and Gunderson High Schools. However, at last week's meeting, the board's legal counsel, Laurie Juengert, said the board's decision is in compliance with state codes.

The meeting drew nearly 100 people. For more than 2 1/2 hours tempers flared as parents, teachers and community members debated--and sometimes argued--about the appropriateness of the book for the classroom.

The only two students who spoke, both recent graduates of Lincoln High School, were in favor of the board's decision.

Emily Wing, 18, read the book in a sophomore English class and said her classmates did not focus on the graphic nature of the book, unlike many of the parents who opposed it. "We students are more mature than you think," she said.

She added that the book inspired students who personally related to the author's experiences: "If an L.A. gang member can turn his life around and become a successful author, then anything is possible."

Now Wing wonders what will happen if the book is banned from her school. "Where would it end? What book would be next?"

Leanna Kinsey, 17, agreed. "Should we stop reading The Diary of Anne Frank because it portrays the Jewish culture in a less than favorable light?" she asked.

However, some parents had another view.

After both Wing and Kinsey had spoken, Rene Moncada said the teenagers were at the "stupidest time of life."

"To me, their opinion doesn't count," he said. Moncada then read a passage from Always Running which included an obscene, four-letter word. Several parents who brought young children to the meeting objected.

Others found it more difficult to refer to specific sections of the book. One woman broke down in tears as she describe a rape scene, and parent Deborah Garcia admitted that she was embarrassed to read the book out loud. Garcia said she disliked the negative manner in which Hispanics are portrayed in the book. "I'm a proud American, but my history is Mexico, and the people and culture I know is very different from this," she said.

One woman, who claimed to be a former gang member, said it was not the responsibility of the school board or Always Running author Luis J. Rodriguez to teach her children about gang violence. She added that Rodriguez wrote the book to prevent his son, not hers, from joining a gang. "If it was meant for his son, it should have stayed with his son and not with my kids."

While many parents were outwardly hostile toward the board, some expressed anger at the 14-member committee that reviewed the book and recommended it to the board. Some claimed the school board chose committee representatives who would have a biased opinion about the book.

However, Lynne Kinsey, one of the four parents on the committee, said none of its members had preconceived ideas. After hours of discussion, the committee decided that Always Running should be taught to juniors and seniors. They added the stipulation that a letter should be sent home informing the parents that the book contains explicit passages. Students who chose not to read the book would have the option of reading another. The school board accepted their recommendation.

Parent Susan Hayase is glad they did. She said that while parents have the right to prevent their children from reading the book, she has the right to allow her child to read it. "I do not want someone else to determine what my child will read. ... I will exercise my parental rights over what my child will read," she said.

Board members could not legally comment on the discussion, as it took place during the public-comment portion of the meeting and was not an agendized item.

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